Testament
by Lady Mayflower
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a lonely mother. All she wanted was to live a happy life with her son. Then God intervened.


_Hello, my little basement-crawlers! Mayflower here with another contribution to the newly-birthed Binding of Isaac category! WHOO!_

_First time writing fanfiction in a while, probably the first piece since my computer crashed last month. Still working on some multi-chapter pieces for the site, but until I get to those, here's another little one-shot! Hope you enjoy! :)_

**LAWYERBOT SAYS: "SACRIFICE YOUR SON AS AN OFFERING TO ME TO PROVE YOU LOVE ME!"  
><strong>The Binding of Isaac, including all related characters, items, and locations (c) Edmund McMillen, because he's awesome.  
>Original story of 'the binding of Isaac' (c) God, 'cause I think he wrote the Bible.<p>

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><p>Once upon a time, there was a mother.<p>

She was a sweet, religious woman. A bit on the heavy side, always adorn in pink and polka-dots, with curly blonde hair and warm, dark eyes.

And this mother couldn't be happier. She was expecting triplets. She had already picked out their names and bought pets to keep them company. A dog named Max for her little girl. Cats named Guppy and Tammy for her little boys.

However, this story doesn't bear a happy ending. At the end of the term, the mother found herself not with a trio of smiling, giggling gifts from God. Instead, she found herself looking over three stillborn. One was a bit blue, strangled from the umbilical cord. The second was red and bloodied. The third, smaller than the other two, looked unharmed - just curled up and frightened, as if he was crying.

Robert. Magdelene. Isaac.

The mother wept. But as she cried, a voice beckoned to her from above.

"Why do you cry, my child? Do you question my ways?"

"I question you not, my Lord," the mother answered. "But I would do anything to have my children. I am faithful to you, Lord; can you spare me no happiness?"

After a pause, the voice replied, "You have proven your faith. I will make an exception and restore one of your children, just one. But it will come at a heavy price."

"Having one child is better than none, my Lord. But what is this price? Do you suggest that there's something I would not do for the sake of my children?"

"By defying my judgement, the revived child will be a servant of Satan. Should I restore this child, it will live a corrupt life, forever drenched in uncleansable sin."

The mother looked down at her lost children. "Then I will save the child. We will move into the woods, away from mankind's corruption. I will raise him in Your teachings, and he will never know sin."

"Then you accept these conditions?"

"I do."

The voice said nothing more, but the mother jumped as the soft, nervous cries of a newborn came from one of the cribs.

_Isaac._

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Once upon a time, there was a boy named Isaac.

He was a quiet boy. On the smaller side, even with his young age, with light blonde hair cut extra-short and his mother's warm, dark eyes.

Isaac knew no life outside his own. But he was happy.

He liked to draw. His bedroom walls were plastered in pictures, all done in pencil and crayon. They were pictures of himself, pictures of his mother, pictures of his house, pictures of his cat. All Isaac ever did was draw. Just sit on the living room floor and color while his mother watched Christian broadcasts on the television.

He never asked questions. He never asked why they lived alone in that house on the hill. He never asked why there weren't other people around them. He never asked for a sibling, nor for a pet other than his beloved Guppy. He never asked why his mother would cry at night. He never asked why she would put him in a wig and call him Maggy.

He was a good boy. So he couldn't quite figure out what he did wrong.

First, she took his crayons. Then she took his clothes. Then she locked him in his room.

As he watched her run to the kitchen and grab her knife, all he could wonder was one thing:

_What did I do wrong?_

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Once upon a time, there was a mother, driven to insanity by her determination to please her god.

There was also a boy named Isaac, who finally discovered his mother's terrible secrets.

It all made sense. As the boy stood over his mother, the Bible that ended her life to save his own cradled in his arms, the voice of God explained everything.

Isaac sniffled as his teary eyes turned back to the red and blue fetuses following behind him, the creatures assisting him in his battles through his mother's treacherous caverns.

Robert. Magdelene.

_Brother Bobby. Sister Maggie._

His mother just wanted to save them. She wasn't crazy, she was just lonely. And scared. And desperate.

"Did you know this would happen, God?" Isaac asked. "Is that why you did what you did?"

"Your mother was dangerous, Isaac," the voice from above replied. "She was devout, but her devotion was skewed. Many times, I have tested her faith, and many times, she has failed. This was the only way."

"...Am I still a sinner? Do I still need to die?"

"Follow not in the footsteps of your mother, Isaac. Stand confident in who you are, and know that your path can only be decided by your actions."

Isaac turned to return to his bedroom. All he wanted was to return to a normal life.

"Isaac."

There was no such thing as normal. There never was. There never would be.

The boy turned to find yet another cavern, this one dropping through his mother's stomach. Leaning in close, he could hear the screeches and cries of more monsters, more of his mother's twisted demons, hunting for his flesh.

"If you wish to leave this madness behind, Isaac, you must first finish the job. Your mother's evil still lingers in this house, and it will forever hunt you down. You must descend one last time, destroy the heart that falsely loved you, and fight back Satan and his Fallen once and for all. This is the only way that you can be free."

And so, Isaac dropped down...

_Into the unknown depths below._

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><p><em>Yeah, not my longest piece, but I didn't want this one to drag out. Story's a little different when you look at it like that, isn't it? ;)<em>

_Anyway, thanks for reading, guys! PLEASE spread the word about the Binding of Isaac category! I can't wait to see this fill up with stories, and I'm up for helping anyone who wants to post a story of their own! (Not only do I have the only Isaac stories posted, I'm also the only registered Isaac beta reader. Do I own this board or what? XD)_

_**§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §**_


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